𝙸𝚁𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙰𝙱𝙻𝙴. ➪ 𝙴. 𝙿𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚎

𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚛

Phillis and Susan were awoken in the middle of the night by Lucy's screams of delight. The two girls sent each other a bored glance before venturing through to the boys' bedroom, where Edmund was stood by Elmer, who had just sat up in bed, as Lucy was screaming in Peter's face about Narnia again. "It's all in the wardrobe, like I told you!" Lucy exclaimed.
"You've just been dreaming, Lucy," Elmer sighed, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to wake up more.
"But I haven't," Lucy said. "I saw Mr. Tumnus again. And this time, Edmund went too."
At that, they all glanced at the boy. He didn't seem amazed or dazed or confused like Lucy had been, he just seemed... bored. "You saw the faun?" Phillis asked the tired boy. Edmund looked at the five children staring at him before focusing his attention back on Phillis, shaking his head slightly.
"Well, he didn't actually go there with me," Lucy explained, confusing Phillis even further, "he... what were you doing, Edmund?"
He seemed to freeze up at that question with all of the children staring expectantly at Edmund. "I was just playing along. I'm sorry, Peter. I shouldn't have encouraged her. But you know what little children are like these days, they just don't know when to stop pretending."
Edmund sat down, a smug look on his face. He looked so smug because he'd made his little sister cry. How horrible. She sobbed as she ran off. "You're insufferable," Phillis snapped before she darted after the youngest in the house, Susan and Peter hot on her trail. Edmund merely shrugged as Elmer groaned and flopped back down onto his bed. He didn't have the energy to deal with all of this Narnia rubbish at that time of night.

They caught her sobbing into the professor's robe, a startled look on his face. "You children are one shenanigan shy of sleeping in the stable," Mrs. Macready groaned. "Professor, I'm sorry. I told them you were not to be disturbed."
Phillis sent an apologetic smile towards both the professor and Mrs. Macready for she hated to be the centre of attention and the cause of a disruption.
"It's all right, Mrs. Macready. I'm sure there's an explanation. But first of all, I think this one is in need of a little hot chocolate," Professor Kirke said, shocking Phillis - she'd expected him to be much meaner. But, in fact, he seemed rather pleasant.
"Come along, dear," Mrs. Macready said, also shocking Phillis as she sounded sincere and rather sweet.
When the three children turned to leave, Professor Kirke cleared his throat. Slowly they turned back, preparing to be yelled at. They ventured towards his office, which is where he began speaking. "You seem to have upset the delicate internal balance of my housekeeper," he said.
"We're very sorry, sir. It won't happen again," Peter apologised, grabbing Phillis and Susan by the sleeve of their robes, as he turned to drag them away, Susan spoke up.
"It's our sister, sir, Lucy," Susan said.
"The weeping girl."
"Yes, sir. She's upset."
"Hence the weeping."
"It's nothing. We can handle it," Peter said before trying to drag the two girls out of the professor's office. Yet neither of them budged.
"Oh, I can see that," the professor said slightly sarcastically.
"She thinks she's found a magical land," Susan began, to which the professor chuckled slightly.
"In the upstairs wardrobe," Phillis added and Professor Kirke's head snapped towards the three children. The professor stood and waltzed towards Phillis and Susan. "What did you say?" he asked, brows knitted together.
"The wardrobe upstairs. Lucy thinks she's found a forest inside," Peter repeated.
"She won't stop going on about it," Phillis added.
"What was it like?" Professor Kirke asked.
"Like talking to a lunatic," Susan breathed.
"No, no, no. Not her. The forest," he said.
"You're not saying you believe her?" Peter asked, gobsmacked.
"You don't?" the professor returned the question.
"But, of course not. I mean, logically it's impossible," Susan answered.
"What do they teach you in school these days?" he muttered to himself.
"Edmund said they were only pretending," Peter said.
"He's usually the more truthful one, is he?" the professor asked.
"No, this would be the first time," Peter sighed.
"Well, if she's not mad and she's not lying, then logically we must assume she's telling the truth," Professor Kirke concluded.
"You're saying that we should just believe her?" Peter asked, slightly dumbfounded.
"She's your sister, isn't she? You're her family. You might just try acting like one."